Syrian Kurds, America’s Top Allies in the War on ISIS, Forced to Dissolve Fighting Units, Join National Army

Syrian Kurds who allied with America in the war against the Jihadists of ISIS, are forced to integrate into an army under the command of acting President Ahmed a-Sharaa, a former Al Qaeda leader, as part of a deal that Kurds see as a Washington betrayal of their interests. President Trump’s ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, who is close to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, hailed the dissolution of Kurdish fighters into the Syrian army as a “historic deal.” Kurds, though, fear that it would leave them vulnerable to Turkish attacks and assault by factions within the Syrian army. In accordance with a January deal that was overseen by Washington and Ankara, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces announced on Tuesday that it would dissolve and integrate into Syria’s national army. The Kurdish autonomy in northern Syria would also end. This is “the end of the mission,” the SDF commander, Mazloum Abdi, said in a televised speech Tuesday, announcing the armed group’s “dissolution as an independent military force.”President Trump highlighted the defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria as one of the most important accomplishments of his first term. “The United States military, our coalition partners, and the Syrian Democratic Forces have liberated virtually all of the territory previously held by ISIS,” the president said in 2019. In that war America provided air coverage, logistics, and reconnaissance. The SDF, which was formed in 2015, lost 12,000 fighters in the war on ISIS. The Kurdish-led force was the war’s boots on the ground, and the backbone of the victory over the Jihadists. The Kurdish units will now be integrated into a fighting army that is yet to gel as a coherent military force. Among the top commanders of Syria’s national army are former jihadists, including some who might have been on the opposite side of the SDF in the 2013-2019 war. “We are unhappy and very suspicious,” a Kurdish source with ties in Syria and Iraq tells The New York Sun, asking not to be identified. “Kurds don’t trust Islamist Arabs, and especially those who espouse ideologies that see others as inferior.”Adding to that fear, last April members of the Syrian army massacred a Druze community at Suweida, in the south of the country. Israel intervened to rescue its Druze allies. Shortly after the Assad regime fell, the Israel Defense Forces occupied Syrian territory near its border and attacked Syrian arms targets. Israelis are leery of Mr. Sharaa, who they often refer to by his Al Qaeda nom de guerre, Al Jolani. As part of the January deal, the autonomy that Kurds established near the Turkish border would dissolve, and its leaders would integrate into Damascus politics. Mr. Abdi, the former SDF commander, is slated to be named a special adviser to Mr. Sharaa. One of the best known Kurdish politicians, Ilham Ahmed, will be a member of the Syrian parliament. Earlier this week Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the removal of Syria from the list of terror-supporting states. Damascus can now raise foreign funds that were not available to it before, which could help Mr. Sharaa to consolidate his authority over the entire country. To soften the deal for the Kurds, Mr. Sharaa earlier announced that Kurdish is now an official Syrian language alongside Arabic. The president of Iraq’s Kurdistan, Nechirvan Barzani, arrived at Damascus earlier this month, where he met with Mr. Sharaa in an attempt to bolster Kurdish support for the deal. Syrian and Iraqi Kurds differ on several issues, though, including relations with Turkey. Nechviran Barzani is on good terms with Mr. Erdogan, who has long seen the Syrian Kurds as a threat to Turkey.Mr. Barrack, who is also Mr. Trump’s special envoy to Syria, was instrumental in the negotiations that led to the January agreement and Tuesday’s announcement of the SDF integration into the Syrian army. “This is what real integration looks like,” Mr. Barrack said in a television interview. “Not winners and losers, but former counterparts with differing points of view crafting a diplomatic solution to strengthen the sovereign nation of Syria. One army, one government, one state.”

Syrian Kurds, America’s Top Allies in the War on ISIS, Forced to Dissolve Fighting Units, Join National Army

Syrian Kurds, America’s Top Allies in the War on ISIS, Forced to Dissolve Fighting Units, Join National Army

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